Double-door-operating device



y 2, 1940- R. H. ROOF I 2,206,051

DQUBLE-DOOR-QP ERATING DEVICE Filed Sept. 6, 1938 INVENTOR.

Patented July 2, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DOUBLE-DOOR-OPERATINGDEVICE Ralph H. Roof, Tulsa, Okla. Application September 6, 1938, SerialNo. 228,570

This invention relates to a door operating mechanism constructed .to aidin the opening and closing of double hung doors such as used on garagesand various other buildings and it consists in the novelconstructiongand combination of the parts hereinafter fully describedand claimed whereby, when used in combination with a pair of hingedlysupported doors, both doors are retained in a closed position; 10 openedand closed simultaneously; limited in their opening movement; heldsecurely open until released and permits the partial opening of one doorwithout transmitting opening move-- ment to the other door. l5The-objects of the present invention are: to

generally improve and simplify, by novel construction and newcombinations of various elements used in door operating devices. theconstruction and operation of door operating \mech- -:.2 anism of thecharacter described; to provide a door operating mechanism particularlyintended for application to double hung garage doors and the like; toprovide a door operating mechanism which can be quickly and readilyapplied to ga- 25 rage doors and which is adjustable to take care ofdoors of varying width; to provide a door operating mechanism whichretains both doors ina closed position, embodying in the retainingelement features of construction which in combination with otherelements of the device permits adjustment to be made whereby the properamount of pressure necessary to retain said doors in a closed positionmay be regulated to suit varying conditions, thus causing said mechanismto function properly regardless of whether the doors on which the deviceis installed are heavy or light, exposed to strong winds or in protectedareas; to provide a door operating mechanism which operatively connectsboth 1 doors but permits partial opening of one door withouttransmitting opening movement to the other door; to provide a dooroperating mechanism which operatively connects both doors so that theopening of one door will be "transmitted to open the other door and viceversa, embodying in .the connecting element means for making possiblethe regulating of the pressure for retaining said doors in a closedposition and the elimination of parts and sim- .plifying of the meansnecessary to limit the doors in their opening movement and causing aholding element to automatically come into holding ,efiect,simultaneously with the doors having reached the extent of-theiropeningmovement,

7 Claims. (01. 268-62) so that they will not accidentally close due tofaulty hanging, wind pulls or otherwise, thereby eliminating any elementof danger either to the doors, machines or persons when entering orleaving a building; to provide a door operating 5 mechanism with meansof adjustment, whereby the device may be set, so that the mechanism willfunction to limit the doors in their outward swing and hold same in apredetermined position with respect to the door opening; to provide all"! door operating mechanism of such construction that the vibrationscaused by the opening and closing movement of the doors will be absorbedby the mechanism without harmful results to the building, the doors orthe mechanism.

With the above objects in view, the invention resides in the combinationand arrangement of parts and in the details of construction herein afterdescribed and claimed, it being understood that changes in the preciseembodiment of the invention herein disclosed can be made within thescope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

The door operating mechanism is shown by way of illustration in theaccompanying drawing, in which- Fig. 1 is a plan view, partly in sectionand somewhat diagrammatic in character, of a door opening provided withdouble hung doors equipped with a door operating mechanism embodying thefeatures of my invention.

' Fig. 2 is a plan view showing one door partially open. a

-Fig. 3 is a perspective View generally on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1 anddrawn toan enlarged scale illustrating features of operation,

thereof and adjacent the hinge is a bracket 5, which bracket is providedwith an aperture for engagement, as at I8, with the end of a hollow rodl5, the same being in hinge connection with the aperture. The hollow rodI5.-is in adjustable telescopic union with the rod I6, being heldagainst telescopic movement by compressing the end of the hollow rod l5at the point of engage- ;ment by means of ataper threaded collar, withwhich hollow rod i is provided, as at IT, thus making it possible, byvarying the point of engagement between hollow rod I5 and rod I6, tobring about an adjustment which regulates the amount of compression thatis to be applied to the spring I3, thereby controlling the force whichretains the doors in a closed position, as hereinafter described, whichis an advantage as doors vary in weight, and wind pressure in shelteredand unsheltered areas necessitates that there be different adjustments.With this type of construction the amount of tension needed on saidspring, to insure proper operation of the mechanism, does not depend onthe original installation but may be adjusted after installation whichis an advantage. Other advantages are: it does not depend on therigidity of its members to accomplish the action necessary to hold thedoors in a closed position; it gives a more flexible action and does notimpose a strain on the mechanism, the doors or the building as dooperating devices which depend on the rigidity of their members toaccomplish this result. The opposite end of the rod I6 is in slidingengagement with a crosshead I I, said sliding movement being limited bycollars II and II and in opposition to spring I3, with which rod I6 isprovided. Said collars being positioned on said rod in such a manner asto provide enough tension on said spring to prevent any sliding actionon the part of the rod I6 and crosshead I4 from taking place except inthe partial opening or complete closing of door C, said collars beingretained in said position by rivets I2 and I2. Crosshead I4 is pivotallysecured to a bracket 6 as at i9 and is of such construction that supportis applied to the rod IS on both sides or the pivot point I9 which is anadvantage as this type of construction eliminates any tendency on thepart of the connecting members to buckle or bind as would be the caseshould the sliding action of a compressible member occur in theconnecting link intermediate the brackets supporting said connectinglink. Bracket 6 is secured to the inside of door C being positionedcomparatively far or inward from the hinge 2 of the door C. Secured tothe bracket 5 and being in hinge connection as at 25 is a link 27. Saidlink being provided with an upturned end as at 29 and nivotaiiy engagedwith link 28 as at 2|. Link 28 is provided with a recess 9 for receptionof upturned end 28 of link 27. The opposite end of link 28 is in pivotalconnection as at 8 with a connecting member III with which hollow rod I5is provided. The position of said connecting member on said hollow rodis adjustable and retained in correct position by bolts 1 and I withwhich said connecting member is provided. Secured to links 21 and 28 asat 3 and 4 is a spring 22. Secured to link 27 as at 23 is a cord 3|, theopposite end of said cord being secured to door B as at 24. Links 2'!and 28 and their appertaining parts comprise the limiting and holdingelement whereby the doors are limited in their outward swing and held inopen position until released. The spring 22 being of sufiicient strengthto retain the mechanism in holding effect until released by pulling thecord 3I as hereinafter described.

The mechanism as illustrated is simple and substantial in constructionand can be readily applied to garage doors orthe like in a comparativelyshort time as it is only necessary: to secure the brackets 5 and G tothe doors, by means of bolts or screws such as shown in Fig. 3 and Fig.4; to adjust the link comprising the sections I5 and i6 which takes careof varying width of doors, and regulates the tension on the compressionspring I3, which retains the doors in a closed position, and adjust thelimiting and holding mechanism, comprising the links 2'! and 28 andtheir appertaining parts, whereby both doors are limited in theiropening movement and held open at predetermined angles with respect tothe door opening. With the mechanism installed as described, theoperation will be as follows;

Referring to the full lines of Fig. 1 of the drawing it is obvious thatboth doors are constrained to remain in a closed position, due to thespring I3 exerting a force in opposite directions, on the brackets 5 and6, said force being applied in part to the crosshead I4 which is carriedby bracket 6, said bracket being secured to door C and positioned insideof an imaginary dead center as at 29, thus exerting an inward pull ondoor C. Simultaneously there is exerted an equivalent force on bracket5, by means of the connecting link I5 and I6, which causes an inwardpull on door B. This force, due to spring I3, remains constant as longas the doors are in a closed position. Should one find afterinstallation of a device of this description, that it does not functionproperly in regard to holding the doors closed, because of the improperlocation of the brackets or as a result of wear on the part of the doorhinges or the mechanism or due to the spring I3 becoming weak, due touse, compensation may be made which will result in the proper operationof the mechanism by loosening the collar I! which holds the connectinglink against telescopic movement, and lengthen or shorten the linkcomposed of the rods I5 and It, thereby applying more or lesscompression, as may be needed, to the spring I3. The same adjustmentwould be necessary in regard to light or heavy doors.

If it is desired to merely afiord ingress and egress to a person, door Cis swung from the full line position indicated in Fig. 1 at C to thefull line position indicated in Fig. 2 at C. This action I is effectedin opposition to the spring I3 until the link comprised of the parts I5and I6 reaches a dead center position, as indicated in Fig. 2 at 29,with relation to the hinge axis of door C and pivot IQ of bracket 6.With the parts in this position the operator will now exert a slightmanual force upon door C in an outward direction so as to cause thepivot I9 to pass the dead center position and simultaneously with thepassing of said dead center position the spring I3 will exert its forceto cause an outward movement of door C, said force existing until collarII is brought against crosshead I4 as in Fig. 2. Simultaneously withthis movement door C will have moved to the position indicated at C inFig. 2, thereby providing ample space for one or more persons to enteror leave the garage without opening the other door. With the parts II,II, I3, I6 and I4 in this position, the combination of said parts forman integral unit, said unit being free to pivot as at I9 in Fig. 2,spring I3 being of suflicient strength to retain said parts in specifiedpositions until sufiicient force is applied to the door to compressspring I3, said compression occurring only when it is desired to opendoors from a. fully closed position or close doors from a partially orfully opened position.

If it is desired to open both doors, for instance when enteringor'leaving the garage with an automobile, door C 'is swung beyond thefull line position indicated at C in Fig. 2, to the open position asindicated by the dotted lines at C in Fig. 1. In doing so the linkcomprising the members l5 and IE will cause an outward pull upon door Bwhereby said door will swing on its hinges to the open position as shownby the dotted lines at B in Fig. 1. As the doors are opened the links 21and 28 are actuated by the bracket 5 and the connecting link I5 and I6through the connecting member Ill and are made to straighten out and areforced past the dead center alignment or dead center of pivot 2| as inFig. 3. In such position the upturned end 2|] of link 21, functioning asa stop finger, engages the recess 9 of link 28 thereby limiting theswing of the doors and automatically comes into and remains in holdingeffect until the cord 3! is pulled by hand, in opposition to spring 22,to break the dead lock of links 2! and 28. The link comprised of themembers [5 and I6 being sufliciently resilient to absorb the vibrationscaused by said limiting and holding mechanism stopping the doors intheir outward swing. Any tendency on the part of the limiting andholding mechanism to move out of holding effect due to vibrationsoccurring in the doors or the mechanism is counteracted by the spring22. This is an advantage over so called springless type holders. Shouldthe connecting member ID, with which hollow rod 15 is provided, be movedfrom its position as shown in the accompanying drawing to a point nearerthe pivot 18, said movement being permitted by loosening the bolts 1 and1' with which said connecting member is provided, it is obvious that thelinks 21 and 28 would limit and come into holding effeet. as heretoforeexplained, only when the doors had completed enough travel in theiropening movement to actuate the limiting and holding mechanism whichwould be at a different position than thatshown in theaccompanyingdrawing, namely after the doors had assumed an open positionof a greater angle with respect to the door opening. Should theconnecting member In be moved in the opposite direction the limiting andholding mechanism would come into effect sooner with regard to theopening movement of the doors, thus making it possible, by moving theconnecting member back and forth on rod I5, to set the mechanism so asto locate thegdoors in their fully open position at differentpredetermined angles with respect to the door opening, which is anadvantage as it is often necessary to stop doors at different angles dueto their proximity to other doors or to other buildings. A limiting andholding mechanism of this type, in combination with a connecting linkand brackets, automatically accomplishes the limiting and holding actionof both doors simultaneously with the doors reaching their open positionthrough the operation of one door manually,

which is an advantage. It is a further advantage over devices which useso called chain bolts or head and foot bolts for accomplishing theholding action as swaging on the part of the doors will not prevent adevice of this type from functioning properly.

When it is desired to close the doors the operator first exerts a pullon the cord 3| as in Fig. 3, in opposition to the spring 22, thusbreaking the dead lock of the links 21 and 28. jointed ends to fold into the position shown in Fig. 2, as the doors close, thereby permittingthe doors tobe returned to the position as indicated in Fig. 2 byapplying pressure to either door. In doing so motion is transmittedthrough the link This allows the composed of the parts l5 and f6 to theopposite door and they are both swung to said position. If by chanceoperator was applying force to door B, which is natural since therelease for the limiting and holding mechanism is attached to door B, tocomplete the closing operator applies pressure to door C, inoppositionto spring l3, until the link comprised of the parts l5 and I6 pass thedead center position as at 29 in Fig. 2. Simultaneously with the passingof the dead center position the spring 13 will effect an inward pull onthe door 0 thereby completing the closing action.

From the foregoing description it is evident that the describedmechanism not only affords convenient ingress and egress both for aperson and a car but also, by limiting the doors in their outward swingand holding them in open position, prevents injury to a car such as notinfrequently occurs when garage doors blow to or otherwise inopportunelyclose. It is unnecessary to provide a setof doors equipped with thisdevice with any latch, bolt or other mechanism for holding said doors ina closed position, unless it is desired to lock said doors in a closedposition, in which case an ordinary hasp and pad lock should besufficient, thus eliminating cost of latches, etc.

While I have not shown it, it is obvious that I may add a weight, inwhich instance a cord or runner would be attached to the bracket 6, andthe same would be trained over suitable pu leys with the weight at itsfree end in such manner that gravity would function to. accomplish theclosing action, once the mechanism for holding the doors in an openposition was released. While I have described a weight for accomplishingthese results, obviously, I may substitute its equivalent, a spring.

While the invention has been described in connection with garage doorsit is obvious that, it may be applied to double hung closures of anycharacter.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is:

1. In a door operating mechanism the combination with a pair of hingedlysupported doors adapted to normally close a door opening, a bracketsecured to each door, two links hinged together, one end of one of saidlinks privoted to one of said brackets and with anchor members,

a spring connected to each of said links, a cord in pivot and slidingconnection with the bracket on the other door, the last mentionedbracket having a crosshead assembled therein and pro--* vided withappertaining parts, namely, a spring and two collars, the link being ofsuch length that the latter pivotal connection crosses the dead centerline passing through the adjacent hinge and the other pivotal connectionwhen the doors are opened or closed.

2. In a door operating mechanism the combination with a pair of hingedlysupported doors adapted to normally close a door opening, a bracketsecured to each door, two links hinged together, one end of one of saidlinks pivoted to one of said brackets and, with anchor members, a springconnected to each of said links, a cord connected to one of said links,a pivotal connection between the opposite end of said links and aconnecting member connecting with an adjustable link, pivotallyconnecting said bracket and in sliding connection with a crosshead, saidcrosshead being in pivot connection with the bracket on the other door,said crosshead being provided with appertaining parts, namely, a springand two collars, and arrainged to prevent buckling on the part of saidadjustable connecting link, the link being of such length that thelatter pivotal connection crosses the dead center line passing throughthe adjacent hinge and the other pivotal connection when the doors areopened or closed and means on the last named bracket arraigned to permitadjustment to be made whereby the proper force may be utilized inmaintaining both doors in a closed position.

3. In a door operating mechanism the combination with a pair of hingcdlysupported doors adapted to normally close a door opening, a bracketsecured to each door, two links hinged to gether, one end of one of saidlinks pivoted to one of said brackets and, with anchor members, a springconnected to each of said links, a cord connected to one of said links,a pivotal connection between the opposite end of said links and aconnecting member connecting with an adjustable link, pivotallyconnecting said bracket and in pivot and sliding connection with thebracket on the other door, the last mentioned bracket having a crosshead assembled therein and provided with appertaining parts, namely, aspring and two collars, the link being of such length that the latterpivotal connection crosses the dead center line passing through theadjacent hinge and the other pivotal connection when the doors areopened or closed and the last mentioned bracket, crosshead assembly andappertaining parts so constructed as to permit a limited independentmovement of the door about its hinges without transmitting movement tothe opposite door.

4. In a door operating mechanism the combination with a pair of hingedlysupported doors adapted to normally close a door opening, a bracketsecured to each door, two links hinged together, one end of one of saidlinks pivoted to one of said brackets and, with anchor members, a springconnected to each of said links, a cord connected to one of said links,a pivotal connection between the opposite end of said links and aconnecting member connecting with an adjustable link pivotallyconnecting said bracket and in pivot and sliding connection with thebracket on the other door, the last mentioned bracket having a crossheadassembled therein and provided with appertaining parts, namely, a springand two collars, the adjustable connecting link being of such lengththat the latter pivotal connection crosses the dead center line passingthrough the adjacent hinge and the other pivotal connection, when thedoors are opened or closed, and which transmits opening movement of onedoor to the other and vice versa, and means on said adjustableconnecting link, arranged to provide adjustment, whereby the amount ofcompression applied to the last mentioned spring, with which saidcrosshead is provided, may be properly regulated.

5. In a door operating mechanism the combination with a pair of hingedlysupported doors adapted to normally close a door opening, a bracketsecured to each door, an adjustable link in pivot connection with onebracket and in pivot and sliding connection with the bracket on theother door, the last mentioned bracket having a crosshead assembledtherein and provided with appertaining parts, namely, a spring and twocollars, the link being of such length that the latter pivotalconnection crosses the dead center line passing through the adjacenthinge and the other pivotal connection when the doors are opened orclosed and means on the first named bracket and the connecting link forlimiting the doors in their opening movement and holding the doors inopen position.

6. In a door operating mechanism the combination with a pair of hingedlysupported doors adapted to normally close a door opening, a bracketsecured to each door, two links hinged together, one end of one of saidlinks pivoted to one of said brackets and, with anchor members, a springconnected to each of said links, a cord connected to one of said links,a pivotal connection between the opposite end of said links and aconnecting member connecting with an ad justable link, pivotallyconnecting said bracket and in pivot and sliding connection with thebracket on the other door, the last mentioned bracket having a crossheadasembled therein and provided with appertaining parts, namely, a springand two collars, the adjustable link being of such length that thelatter pivotal connection crosses the dead center line passing throughthe adjacent hinge and the other pivotal connection when the doors areopened or closed and means on said connecting member whereby saidconnecting member may be moved along said adjustab e link in setting thedevice so as to regulate the scope of the angular position that thedoors may assume when in full open position.

'7. In a door operating mechanism the combination with a pair ofhingedly supported doors adapted to normally close a door opening, abracket secured to each door, two links hinged together, one end of oneof said links pivoted to one of said brackets and, with anchor members,a spring connected to each of said links, a cord connected to one ofsaid links, a pivotal connection between the opposite end of said linksand a connecting member connecting with an adjustable link, pivotallyconnecting said bracket and in pivot and sliding connection with thebracket on the other door, the ast mentioned bracket having a crossheadassembled therein and provided with appertaining parts, namely, a springand two collars, the adjustable link being of such length that thelatter pivotal connection crosses the dead center line passing throughthe adjacent hinge and the other pivotal connection when the doors areopened or closed and the last mentioned link being resilient to absorboperating vibrations.

RALPH H. ROOF.

